June 16, 2011 - Hitting North Fork's natural hot spotsSUFFOLKTIMES.COM I JUNE 16, 2011
fitting
ort
Fork's
natural hot spots
nl i Irlillr' Nr�l "ilri r i r� r r�
�Wrm'wxwklmr�w�
t
PAUL STOUTENBURGH PHA
,ve: The area around Dam Pond in East Marion is among the most picturesque on Long Island. Below: The bright
flower of the prickly pear cactus is found in many sandy spots on the North Fork. It is particularly evident along
:hes of Orient Beach State Park.
Friends, families and summer visitors will soon
be coming to the North Fork. They will be visiting
wineries, farm stands, restaurants and swimming
beaches. For those who might like to learn more
about the natural areas we have to offer along ou
shorelines on the North Fork, here is an article I
wrote in the North Fork Vacation Guide in 1997
that is mostiv still true today
111t; uavel wlrn me to some or e best 0 own
and least known places on the North Fork to see
birds, plants and animals often missed when trav-
eling the main highways.
When you leave the expressway heading towarg
Drient, watch for a stop light at Northville Turn-
CUS ON NATURE
PAUL STOUTENBURGH
d place to see ducks and
,n thev are mnvinu thr,,,,
pike and turn left. As
You travel north, you
will see sod farms
before you come to
Sound Avenue. Turn
right and then im-
mediately take a left
onto Penny's Road.
Stop a few hundred
feet up at a pond
on your right. It's a
migrating shore birds
To acquaint you with an interesting, often over -
ooked up- and -down road, keep heading north unt
e road bends and becomes Sound Shore Road.
er you pass the oil tank farm, keep a sharp eye ou
on your right as you parallel the North Fork Pre-
serve, where pheasants and quail can often be seen.
Eventually, you'll come to Pier Avenue. Turn left to
get your first good view of Long Island Sound.
We'll be mentioning gulls throughout our trip, so
we should get to know them here. The most common
is the herring gull, a big white gull with gray wings
and black wing tips that you'll see wherever there is
water. Larger and less common is the black- backed
gull. Its name well describes this ruthless scavenger.
Less common in the summer is the ring -billed gull,
with a dark ring around his bill, whose smaller body
and often delicate flight separate him from the her-
ring gull. Our fourth gull is the laughing gull, which
is becoming more common on our North Fork. It is
smaller and sometimes mistaken for a tern because
of its tem -like flight. During the winter this spot at
the end of PierAvenue is a good place for sighting se
ducks, loons and occasionally a seal.
,_,ououng oacx on Pier Avenue, we drive until we
come to Sound Avenue. Turn left and head east.
We'll soon pass the historic Hallockville Museum
Farm, just past Herricks Lane, a worthwhile stop for
those interested in old homesteads, farms and gar-
dens. After leaving here, watch for a split in the road
with Cox Neck Road -on -your left. This will meander
toward the famous Mattituck Inlet, which provides
boaters their only port of call on the North Shore.
There are beaches, boats and wetlands here,
where all kinds of water birds can be seen. With
Binoculars you should be able to see great blue
nerons ana snowy egrets in the marshes in season;
feeding in the inlet, you should see common terns
and an occasional smaller — and endangered —
least tern. If you are a good spotter, you might see
the osprey that sits atop his platform at the edge of
the creek to the south.
Back on Sound Avenue we head eastward toward
Orient. All along the way there will be small side roads
to the left, a mile or two in distance, that eventually
lead you to the Sound. These roads hold their own
special appeal. We pass through Cutchogue and Pe-
conic. All along you'll see changing agriculture, from
potato farming to vineyards. In Southold we come to
Town Beach, directly on the road and Sound. It might
be worth looking here for tems and gulls.
We pass the blinking light that tells us where
Greenport is and keep heading east throuah East
manon on the causeway to Orient Point. Notice thi
fish nets offshore in the bay where cormorants can
usually be sighted. The vistas here are some of the
most beautiful of all Long Island. Serene saltwater
ponds and large expanses of bay and Sound give
the birder a wonderful opportunity to search out
cormorants, ducks, geese, terns and wading birds
that use these magical isles for their livelihood.
It's here you'll probably get the best views of os-
preys you can ask for — some directly above your
car as you drive by. This is camera heaven. All along
the causeway you can park and enjoy the splendor
of these open -space vistas. Just beyond, the wet-
lands produce rails and egrets and herons. On your
left is Oysterponds State of NewYork parking area
— a marine recreation access site. Off to your right
can be seen a number of osprey nests.
Heading east we pass the sleepy little village of Ori-
ent and continue on to Orient Beach State Park, which
lies almost at the end of the island. You can spend a
whole day at this park and not see it all. It's one place
you do not want to miss. You can hike for miles with
very few people to bother you amongst bay, beach
and cedar maritime forest, all within a stone's throw
Aeach other. Along the Roy Latham Maritime Forest
[Pail, to the east of the parking lot, you will find salt
;pray rose, prickly pear cactus, reindeer moss and
rather plants of this sandy maritime forest.
We'll leave our trip around the North Fork here fo
aow and when we return in two weeks we will move
mom Orient Beach State Park down to the county
lark at Orient Point, where we will park and take a